Maglemosian ( 9000 – 6000 BC) is the name given to a

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

of the early

Mesolithic The Mesolithic (Ancient Greek language, Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic i ...

period in

Northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other ge ...

. In

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

, the culture was succeeded by the Kongemose culture.

Environment and location

The name originates from the Danish archeological site ''Maglemose'', situated near Gørlev and

Høng Høng is a town with a population of 4,304 (1 January 2025)Zealand Zealand ( ) is the largest and most populous islands of Denmark, island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size) at 7,031 km2 (2715 sq. mi.). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 Januar ...

, southwest of lake Tissø. Here the first settlement of the culture was excavated in 1900, by George Sarauw. During the following century a long series of similar settlements were excavated from

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and from

Skåne Scania ( ), also known by its native name of Skåne (), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces () of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous w ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

to northern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. When the Maglemosian culture flourished, sea levels were much lower than now and what is now mainland Europe and Scandinavia were linked with Britain. The cultural period overlaps the end of the last ice age, when the ice retreated and the glaciers melted. It was a long process and sea levels in

did not reach current levels until almost 6000 BC, by which time they had inundated large territories previously inhabited by Maglemosian people. Therefore, there is hope that the emerging discipline of underwater archaeology may reveal interesting findings related to the Maglemosian culture in the future.

Characteristics

The Maglemosian people lived in forest and wetland environments, using fishing and hunting tools made from wood, bone, and flint

microlith A microlith is a small Rock (geology), stone tool usually made of flint or chert and typically a centimetre or so in length and half a centimetre wide. They were made by humans from around 60,000 years ago, across Europe, Africa, Asia and Austral ...

s. It appears that they had domesticated the dog. Some may have lived settled lives, but most were nomadic. Huts made of bark have been preserved, in addition to tools made of

flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Historically, flint was widely used to make stone tools and start ...

bone A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, ...

, and horn. A characteristic feature of the culture is the sharply edged

s of flintstone, used for spear and arrow heads.Med bue, pil og fiskespyd
Gyldendals Open Encyclopedia . Pictures of some Maglemosian tools. Another notable feature is the leister, a characteristic type of fishing spear, used for gigging.

Scandinavian data table

Genetics

References

Sources

*Anders Fischer: "Submerged Stone Age – Danish Examples and North sea potential"; i: N.C.Flemming: ''Submarine Prehistory and Archaeology of the North Sea: research priorities and collaboration with industry''. CBA Research Report 141, 2004, s. 23ff Danish-language texts *Geoffrey Bibby: ''Spadens vidnedsbyrd''; Wormanium 1980, s. 109f *''Gyldendal og Politikens Danmarkshistorie (red. af Olaf Olsen); Bind 1: I begyndelsen. Fra de ældste tider til ca. år 200 f.Kr. (ved Jørgen Jensen); 1988, s. 47ff'' *Jørgen Jensen: ''Danmarks Oldtid. Stenalder, 13.000–2.000 f.Kr.''; Gyldendal 2001, s. 86ff *Anders Fischer: "En håndfuld flint", ''Skalk'' nr. 5, 1973, s. 8ff *Anders Fischer: "Mennesket og havet i ældre stenalder"; i: Carin Bunte (red): ''Arkeologi och Naturvetenskab'', Lund 2005, s. 276ff *Kim Aaris-Sørensen: "Uroksejagt", ''Skalk'' nr. 6, 1984, s. 10ff *Ole Grøn: "Teltning", ''Skalk'' nr. 1, 1988, s. 13f *Søren A. Sørensen: "Hytte ved sø", ''Skalk'' nr. 3, 1988, s. 25ff *Peter Vang Petersen: "Bjørnejagt", ''Skalk'' nr. 5, 1991, s. 3ff *Poul og Kristian Krabbe: "Vest for Valhal", ''Skalk'' nr. 6, 1995, s. 11ff *Axel Degn Johansen: "Ikke en sky og ikke en vind!", ''Skalk'' nr 2, 2008, s. 8ff {{DEFAULTSORT:Maglemosian Culture Archaeological cultures of Europe Nordic Stone Age Mesolithic cultures of Europe Archaeological cultures in Belgium Archaeological cultures in Denmark Archaeological cultures in England Archaeological cultures in France Archaeological cultures in Germany Archaeological cultures in Lithuania Archaeological cultures in the Netherlands Archaeological cultures in Norway Archaeological cultures in Poland Archaeological cultures in Sweden 9th-millennium BC establishments

Environment and location

Characteristics

Scandinavian data table

Genetics

See also

References

Sources